Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Antonella Artuso
Page: 17

HARPER STANDS FIRM ON MANDATORY MINIMUMS

'We Are Absolutely Philosophically Committed to It,' Says PM

Despite another legal setback, the Conservatives remain committed to 
mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug traffickers and other 
serious criminals, Stephen Harper says.

The Ontario Superior Court struck down a mandatory six-month minimum 
sentence for growing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, a 
decision Harper said his government would study.

"We think it is important that those who traffic drugs, who destroy 
lives, face sufficient penalty under the law," Harper said Tuesday. 
"A mandatory minimum is a mandatory prison sentence for certain types 
of crime - drug trafficking, murder, other acts of violence. We think 
there are situations where it is inconceivable that a court would 
deliver a verdict that does not involve a penalty of time in prison."

The Liberals have said they would abolish almost all mandatory 
minimum sentences, a move that's "way off side" with the views of 
most Canadians, Harper said.

Other courts have also weighed in, ruling mandatory jail sentences 
for a first offence conviction for gun possession unconstitutional.

"We are absolutely philosophically committed to it," Harper said of 
mandatory minimums.

Scarborough Southwest Liberal candidate Bill Blair said the party is 
committed to keeping Canadians safe with laws "driven by facts and 
evidence" and which may include mandatory minimum sentences.

"The Conservatives have failed on public safety because they rely on 
failed ideology," Blair said in an e-mail. "While the government has 
a responsibility to put forward laws that are constitutional, the 
Conservatives have wasted millions of taxpayers' dollars fighting 
avoidable legal challenges."

Harper's comments came during a campaign event at a housing 
development under construction in the riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge.

The party has set a target of adding 700,000 new homeowners in the 
country by 2020 through measures such as increasing the contribution 
limit for tax-free savings accounts.

"Now we are not, to be clear, supporting home ownership at all costs, 
but responsible home ownership," Harper said. "We are not lowering 
the threshold for achieving home ownership. We are raising Canadians 
ability to achieve it through lower taxes, economic growth and new 
well-paying jobs."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom